Sunday, March 25, 2012

While I'm a vegetarian, I do cook fish and meats for the family. The research conducted over the past decades on the impact of over-fishing was part of my journey to vegetarianism, so I tend to only buy fish that's farm-raised. I do realize there are farms that have different standards of environmental impacts, but buying from a ethical grocer or grocery can help you minimize your environmental footprint, and see if you can make sure the fish are bred in recirculating systems.

In my last blog post, I mentioned the rather wild and crazy menu I cooked up for my last dinner party, and shared a few of the recipes. Today, I'll share the recipe for the Teriyaki and Tomato Baked Salmon and the recipe for what I did to the leftovers the next day - Panko Encrusted Salmon Patties, or what we'd call Cutlets in India

I take my marinades seriously! So, I tend to cook them in advance to make sure the spices have time to emerge and permeate the whole mix

Start by finely chopping the garlic cloves and the onions

In a large saucepan heat 3 tbsp. of oil, and fry the garlic. Then add the onions and fry till brown

Pour 20 oz. of the chopped tomatoes into the mix and flavor with 2 oz. of the Teriyaki sauce

Add a dash of pepper, and let simmer on a medium flame for 20 min. or till the marinade takes on a nice thick consistency

Let the marinade cool completely so that when you coat the fish, it doesn't start cooking

Preparing the fish

Place the fish in a dish that you can bake in, and preferably can serve in as well.I tend to use a large non-embellished Pyrex dish, since that ensures that you are not disturbing the fish when you re-plate and that the focus is on the food rather than the platter

Lightly spray the dish with olive oil spray, then place the salmon filet skin side down- you might choose to cut the skin out I am agnostic

Spread over the whole over the filet so that there is a thick uniform coating over the whole filet

Let it sit for at least an hour - I tend to prep the dish at lest two to three hours before baking. If you are in a hurry, go ahead and bake after you've layered on the marinade

I cooked the patties with the leftover baked salmon, but if you're cooking this up from scratch start with the following ingredients: 1 oz salmon, 1-2 garlic cloves sliced fine, one chopped onion, one cup chopped and pureed tomato, and about 6 tablespoons of Teriyali saice

Fry the garlic, then the onions till they are brown, then add the tomatoes and teriyaki sauce. Once the sauce has thickened to a non-watery consistency, put the salmon slab in so the mix coats it and cook on a medium fire for about 20 minutes or till the fish is flaky. Let cool and proceed to the next step

Prepare the potatoes: You need them to be have a thicker version of mashed potatoes. While you may choose to boil the potatoes, I microwave them. Pierce the potatoes in 3 to 4 spots with a fork, wrap each in a paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes, turn over and microwave for another 2 minutes. Skin the potatoes and cut them into eight pieces each

Beat two eggs, add a pinch of salt, turmeric and pepper so that there is a shot of flavor in the coating of the patties

Keep a plate of Panko crumbs (or regular breadcrumbs) ready by the sove

Take the cooled baked salmon or the salmon cooked as above, and use a fork to mash it into a flaky mix

Mash the potatoes into the fish, and roll the mix into small patties that are about a half inch thick and 2 inches across. I tend to make them about the size of my palm

Coat the patties with egg, then place them on the panko so that there is a uniform coating of crumbs on each patty

Spray a nonstick pan with oil, and roast each patty. Since all the ingredients are cooked, don't over-fry the patties

Once browned, plate the patties and serve

You don't really need a sauce, see the mini-video of D here to attest to that!

Note: Since I can't taste any non-vegetarian dishes I make, I have an elaborate system of tasters - see my daughter's commentary, and a note I had my son take in to my husband who was on a call. That's sonny boy's writing!Video:
D: "This is really delicious...and it's not usual for me to like salmon."Note:
K's handwriting on the Q&A "form" and husband S's response "Fabulous."